Table of contents
- What the 350-601 DCCOR Official Cert Guide Provides
- DCCOR Topics Covered by the Guide
- Quizzes, Exercises, and Practice Tests
- Study Planning and Companion Resources
- Print, eBook, and Premium Edition Differences
The 350-601 DCCOR book is the second edition of the Cisco Press CCNP and CCIE Data Center Core DCCOR 350-601 Official Cert Guide. The guide is presented as a self-study resource for the CCNP and CCIE Data Center Core DCCOR 350-601 exam.
The guide was published by Cisco Press, with Somit Maloo, Iskren Nikolov, and Firas Ahmed listed as authors. The Cisco Press listing identifies the second edition as a 1,072-page book and gives the book ISBN-13 as 978-0138228088. The listing also identifies a Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test as a separate digital-only preparation product.
What the 350-601 DCCOR Official Cert Guide Provides
The guide is designed to support several stages of preparation. Exam Topic lists help the reader locate material, while the “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes help determine how much time to spend on sections. Chapter-ending exercises and Exam Preparation Tasks provide additional review activities. The final preparation chapter describes tools and resources for creating a review and test-taking strategy, and the guide includes study-plan suggestions and templates.
This structure makes the 350-601 DCCOR study guide more than a simple list of technical subjects. The documented features connect topic learning, self-assessment, focused review, practice testing, and final planning. The guide also identifies a companion website containing more than 200 unique practice exam questions, practice exercises, and a study planner.
Guide Edition and Exam Focus
The Cisco Press listing identifies the title as “CCNP and CCIE Data Center Core DCCOR 350-601 Official Cert Guide, 2nd Edition.” It associates the guide with the CCNP and CCIE Data Center Core DCCOR 350-601 exam and lists Cisco Press as the publisher. The listing states that the second edition includes updated topics and additional information covering changes to the latest DCCOR 350-601 exam.
The OverDrive listing describes an eBook version of the print title. It identifies the publisher as Pearson Education, the release date as March 6, 2020, and the eBook ISBN as 9780136449621. Because the listings describe different editions and formats, readers should identify the specific product before assuming that its included assessment access is the same.
How the Preparation Routine Is Structured
A documented study routine can begin with the topic list for the section under review. The chapter-opening “Do I Know This Already?” quiz can then help the reader decide how much time to allocate to that section. After reviewing the relevant material, the reader can work through the chapter-ending exercises, Exam Preparation Tasks, and review questions.
The guide’s final preparation chapter is titled “Final Preparation.” Its listed material includes getting ready, tools for final preparation, Pearson Test Prep practice-test software and website questions, access to the Pearson Test Prep application, exam customization, exam updates, chapter-ending review tools, and a suggested plan for final review and study.
DCCOR Topics Covered by the Guide
The contents of the guide organize the documented coverage into five major parts: Networking, Storage, Compute, Automation, and Security. This is the coverage presented in the guide’s contents and should not be treated as an independently verified current exam blueprint.
Networking and Storage
The Networking section contains chapters on routing in the data center, data center switching protocols, data center overlay protocols, Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, Cisco cloud services and deployment models, data center network management and monitoring, and Cisco Nexus Dashboard.
The routing chapter lists subjects including routing protocols on Cisco Nexus devices, OSPF, Border Gateway Protocol, Multiprotocol BGP, Bidirectional Forwarding Detection, multicast, and first-hop redundancy topics. The switching chapter includes spanning tree protocols, port channels, virtual port channels, configuration consistency, and traffic-flow considerations.
The overlay chapter includes Virtual Extensible LAN, VXLAN encapsulation and packet format, VXLAN tunnel endpoints, virtual network identifiers, the VXLAN control plane, gateways, high availability, and configurations and verifications. The Cisco ACI chapter includes the ACI overview, APIC, spine and leaf switches, fabric discovery, access policies, the policy model, tenants, contracts, filters, management access, traffic handling, and configuration examples.
The storage section covers Fibre Channel, FCoE unified fabric, NFS and NAS concepts, and software management and infrastructure monitoring. The Fibre Channel contents include hardware, topologies, port types, addressing, flow control, VSAN, zoning, device aliases, NPIV, and NPV. The FCoE chapter includes frame format, virtual Fibre Channel, addressing and forwarding, FIP, topology options, implementations, configuration, and verification.
The NFS and NAS chapter lists NFS concepts, NAS concepts, NAS benefits, and Cisco UCS S-Series storage servers. The storage management chapter includes Cisco MDS NX-OS setup, software upgrades and downgrades, EPLD upgrades, and monitoring subjects such as system messages, Call Home, Embedded Event Manager, RMON, and SPAN.
Compute, Automation, and Security
The Compute section covers Cisco Unified Computing Systems, UCS infrastructure monitoring, UCS software and configuration management, and Cisco HyperFlex. The UCS contents include architecture, components and connectivity, blade and rack servers, fabric infrastructure, virtualization infrastructure, initial setup, network management, identity pools, service profiles, policies, quality of service, and SAN connectivity.
The UCS monitoring chapter includes system monitoring, the Data Management Engine, application gateway, northbound interfaces, monitoring events and logs, monitoring policies, traffic monitoring, Cisco Intersight, telemetry data collection, and licensing. The software and configuration management chapter includes backups, restore operations, firmware and software updates, firmware terminology, and upgrade procedures.
The HyperFlex chapter lists the HyperFlex solution and benefits, edge, hybrid, and all-flash nodes, the HyperFlex hyperconverged multicloud platform, all-NVMe options, and the HyperFlex Data Platform.
The Automation section covers automation and scripting tools together with orchestration technologies. The listed subjects include EEM, the Bash shell for Cisco NX-OS, the Guest Shell, XML, JSON, REST API, NX-API, Ansible, Python, POAP, HashiCorp Terraform, and PowerShell. The contents also include configuration, verification, commands, scripts, SDK material, and technology-specific concepts for these subjects.
The Security section is divided into network security, compute security, and storage security. The network security chapter includes AAA, role-based access control, first-hop security, Dynamic ARP Inspection, DHCP snooping, port security, control plane policing, Cisco ACI contracts, microsegmentation, and keychain authentication. The compute and storage chapters include AAA, authentication, authorization, accounting, remote authentication services, user roles, policies, port security, and fabric binding topics.
Quizzes, Exercises, and Practice Tests
The guide documents assessment features at both chapter and practice-test levels. The “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes appear at the beginning of the listed chapters. Their stated purpose is to help the reader decide how much time to spend on each section. This makes the quizzes useful as an initial check before detailed review.
Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks provide another checkpoint after the foundation topics. The contents list these tasks at the end of the networking, storage, compute, automation, and security chapters. The guide also includes review questions and a final preparation chapter, so readers can move from chapter-level checking to broader review planning.
Chapter-Level Knowledge Checks
The chapter-opening quizzes and chapter-ending tasks serve different points in the study process. The opening quiz is positioned before the main chapter material and helps with time allocation. The Exam Preparation Tasks are positioned after the foundation topics and are described as a way to drill on key concepts.
The contents also list an appendix containing answers to the “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes. This gives the reader a documented way to check the opening assessment after completing it. The guide’s review questions provide another method for assessing knowledge of the material covered in the chapters.
Practice-Test Features
The Cisco Press description identifies Pearson Test Prep Practice Test software with hundreds of well-reviewed, exam-realistic questions, customization options, and detailed performance reports. The description also identifies a companion website with more than 200 unique practice exam questions, practice exercises, and a study planner.
The Premium Edition description adds enhanced practice-test functionality to the eBook. It states that the Premium Edition contains four full practice exams and chapter-opening assessment questions. It also describes the ability to focus on individual topic areas or take complete, timed exams, use direct links from questions to detailed tutorials, receive unique sets of exam-realistic practice questions, and track performance with module-level feedback.
These features support different forms of review. Topic-focused practice can be used when the reader wants to examine one area, while complete timed exams are described as an option for broader practice. Performance reports and module-level feedback are documented as tools for identifying areas that need further attention. The sources do not establish a guaranteed exam result or an individual readiness outcome.
Study Planning and Companion Resources
The guide documents several planning resources: a final preparation chapter, study-plan suggestions, study-plan templates, a study planner, and companion website material. The companion website is described as providing practice exam questions, practice exercises, and a study planner.
A Practical Sequence for Using the Guide
A bounded sequence based on the documented features is straightforward. Start with the relevant Exam Topic list to identify the material being reviewed. Use the chapter-opening quiz to assess familiarity and determine where more reading time may be useful. Review the foundation topics, then complete the chapter-ending exercises, Exam Preparation Tasks, and review questions.
After chapter-level review, use the documented practice-test options to examine topic areas or complete broader practice. Performance reports can indicate which modules or subjects require additional attention. During the final review period, use the final preparation chapter, study-plan suggestions, templates, and study planner to organize the remaining work.
This sequence organizes the guide’s stated components without claiming that a particular schedule will produce a particular result. The source material describes preparation tools and study-planning features, but it does not provide a universal timetable or guarantee individual success.
Companion Website and Video Mentoring
The Cisco Press listing describes a companion website containing more than 200 unique practice exam questions, practice exercises, and a study planner. The OverDrive listing describes more than two hours of personal video mentoring and states that access is available through product registration at Cisco Press or through instructions in the back pages of the eBook.
The OverDrive listing also describes chapter-ending quizzes, exam preparation tasks, review questions, a final preparation chapter, preparation hints, and test-taking tips. These descriptions indicate that the companion resources extend the reading and review experience with additional assessment and video material.
For readers comparing formats, access instructions matter. The video-mentoring access described by OverDrive depends on product registration or the instructions supplied with the eBook. The separate practice-test access described for the Premium Edition should not be assumed to apply to every digital listing.
Print, eBook, and Premium Edition Differences
The Cisco Press page describes individual book purchases, a Premium Edition eBook, and a book-and-eBook bundle. The Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test is described as a digital-only product combining an eBook with enhanced Pearson Test Prep practice tests.
What the Premium Edition Adds
The Premium Edition includes PDF and EPUB versions of the second-edition guide and access to the Pearson Test Prep exam engine through a download link and question-database access code. Its described practice-test package includes four full practice exams and enhanced assessment features.
The Premium Edition also supports individual topic focus and complete timed exams. The listing describes direct links from questions to detailed tutorials, unique sets of exam-realistic questions, performance tracking, and module-by-module feedback. These features distinguish the Premium Edition from an eBook that provides reading access without the same practice-test software.
Why Format Details Matter
The OverDrive listing explicitly states that its eBook version does not provide access to the practice-test software that accompanies the print book. It separately states that personal video mentoring is available through Cisco Press product registration or through the eBook instructions.
The Cisco Press listing describes the Premium Edition as a combined eBook and practice-test product, while the OverDrive listing describes a library eBook with a different access condition. Availability and included resources therefore depend on the specific listing and format. Readers choosing a DCCOR 350-601 PDF or another digital format should verify whether the product includes Pearson Test Prep access, the companion resources, and the video-mentoring instructions before selecting it.
The documented distinction is practical: the print listing, the OverDrive eBook listing, and the Premium Edition listing do not describe identical access packages. Compare the exact edition and included features before choosing a format for preparation. For broader certification-path context, see how to become a ccnp.